After more than four years in detention, Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), remains defiant about his calls for the independence of Biafra.
Speaking to reporters in a courtroom at the Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday, Mr Kanu reaffirmed his commitment to the cause, citing his legal right to seek a sovereign Biafra nation. “That is why I do what I do; I agitate for Biafra, I agitate for Biafra… by my right to agitate, my right,” he said, looking into journalists’ cameras.
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Agitations for the secession of Nigeria’s then Eastern region – today’s five states of the South-east – as an independent Biafra nation prompted Nigeria’s Civil War in the late 1960s.
Present day agitators led by Mr Kanu have extended the boundaries to include some parts of the neighbouring states bordering the region.
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Since 2015, when the Nigerian government first arrested and later charged him in court over his secessionist activities, Mr Kanu has been a rallying force for pro-Biafra agitations which have caused waves of violence and unrest in the South-east.
His remarks asserting his right to agitate for Biafra came after a court hearing on Monday, which was intended to continue his trial.
The scheduled hearing was stalled after Mr Kanu challenged the impartiality of the trial judge, Binta Nyako, and demanded her recusal from the case. It marked the second time Mr Kanu would openly confront the judge to keep her hands off his case.
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The prosecution led by Adegboyega Awomolo, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), urged the court to ignore Mr Kanu’s call for her to withdraw from the trial.
But the judge yielded to pressure from Mr Kanu and his lawyer, Aloy Ejimakor.
Mr Kanu is being tried by the federal government on terrorism over his separatist activities.
The trial was stalled in September after Mr Kanu asked Mrs Nyako to withdraw from his case.
Mrs Nyako recused herself and sent the casefile to the Chief Judge of the court, John Tsoho, for reassignment to another judge.
But the Chief Judge later returned the case file to Mrs Nyako and directed any party that was displeased with her handling of the case to file a formal application for her to recuse herself.
Judge Nyako had no jurisdiction
The secessionist leader insisted while addressing journalists on Monday that the Chief Judge had no power to compel Mrs Nyako to continue handling the case.
“This is a federal gazetted law of Nigeria that says here that the Chief Judge of Nigeria cannot tell Binta Nyako what to do. It is here, it’s your law, obey it,” Mr Kanu said, pointing at a pamphlet in his hand.
He added, “Binta Nyako has no jurisdiction to try me. I came out here out of respect for the law. She stands recused from my case, and cannot try my case. There are things that are happening in this country that a lot of you do not know.”
He added that he had earlier petitioned the National Judicial Council (NJC), accusing Mrs Nyako of bias in his prolonged trial.
Why is it, when it comes to my case, they turn it upside down, they turn the law upside down,” Mr Kanu yelled.
While pointing at Mr Awomolo, the lead prosecution counsel, Mr Kanu said, “An old man like this doesn’t know the law. You don’t know the law.”
Turning to journalists in the courtroom, the IPOB leader quipped, “This is the law of Nigeria, the prosecution and this court doesn’t know the law; that is the fact. Poor knowledge of the law is killing Nigeria. Poor knowledge of the law, they don’t know the law.”
Lamenting his prolonged trial and the government’s review of the charges brought against him, the IPOB leader asked the Nigerian government to obey its own laws.
READ ALSO: Real reason Justice Nyako wants to preside over my trial despite recusal – Nnamdi Kanu
“This is a federal, gazetted law of Nigeria that says here that the Chief Judge of Nigeria cannot tell Binta Nyako what to do. It is here, it’s your law, obey it. That is why I do what I do. I agitate for Biafra, I agitate for Biafra by my right to agitate. They turned it from treasonable felony now to terrorism,” he noted.
Before turning away from journalists, angry Mr Kanu smacked a lawyer in his legal team on the back, chiding him to “stop talking while I’m talking.”
Mr Kanu’s trial was earlier stalled after Mrs Nyako recused herself from the case following the IPOB leader’s oral application on 24 September 2024.
The IPOB leader had broken into a conversation between the bar and the bench during the court session to tell the judge to withdraw from the case. He said he no longer had confidence in her handling of his trial.
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